Friday, May 23, 2014

As previously mentioned, I hate book
reviews. But I love books. And movies. I find myself searching out movie
reviews after watching each random film Netflix or Amazon Prime or my parents'
borrowed Comcast Xfinity sucks me into, an observer of conversations that took
place long ago. Some people seem to feel like there's a glut of
opinions online, like Rotten Tomatoes' offering of "regular folks"
opinions via blog is an unnecessary addition to the professional reviews which
precede them. But. If you're watching a random movie from fifteen years ago, the regular media has dumped those links that promise reviews.
It's nothing but 404 messages ad infinitum.

Bloggers aren't
constrained by the concerns of the regular media. Their reviews shine
brightly years and years after they first appeared. So, by extension, I would
like to extend my hand to book reviewers. Although not as subject to turnover
as film, the splashing out of opinion about books is a gift to one who
wants to listen to a conversation about a book she just finished at 2
a.m.

What did I do before all this? As a
child of the '90s, this constant access to information is something that has
bricked over the past. I swim easily in the sea, forgetting how I used to do
things. So what was different? I saw more movies with other people. Watching
VHS or DVD releases was a thing. It's still a thing, and a much more accessible
one, with Redboxes outside every WalMart.